Manga and comics

[Neil Ward]

No: HPFGUIDX 772

Thanks to all those who responded to my questions about anime.  Just to
confirm my own stupidity on the subject, I had heard of manga [which Brits
would pronounce man-ga], and even knew what it was, but wasn't able to close
that loop in my brain last night.  One of my favourite bands, Urusei
Yatsura, is named after a manga/anime character - a sort of Veela in a
leopard-skin bikini (I just *know* someone is going to correct me on that) -
and it's been quite trendy to wear tight t-shirts with big-eyed manga
characters on the front. Okay, this was obviously a very distant awareness I
had...

For anyone who is interested in manga and comics when in London, I'd suggest
going to Forbidden Planet in New Oxford Street.  It's a science fiction
bookshop, but it has a floor devoted to comics and also deals in sci-fi
paraphernalia, such as 'paint-your-own Yoda' model kits.  Only go there if
you think US$25 is reasonable for a t-shirt. Hmmm, I must see if they've
stretched their genre as far as Harry Potter.

A while back, in our old Y! homestead, we were talking about the fact that
JKR vetted all the Americanisms in the US books and supported these changes
because she wanted everyone (I think she said "every child," cough,
splutter) to have the same experience.  She/the publishers felt that it
might be spoilt if the reader had to stumble over 'dustbins' and
'pavements'.  If this anime/manga phenomenon is *so* huge in Japan, it would
seem a logical vehicle for Harry Potter over there, especially as the
violent scenes, rather than seeming out of place, will seem true to the genre. 

I'm not a comic fan, but I'm now going to check out some manga stuff (and
Sandman).  See what you've done to me?

Neil, who just about resisted a joke about the Isle of Manga.
            Flying-Ford-Anglia

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   "Then, dented, scratched and steaming, 
   the car rumbled off into the darkness, 
   its rear lights blazing angrily"

 [Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]

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